The Switch

Prologue | Into the Waves

I'm definitely getting sunburnt. Mom is gonna kill me.

I poked at my reddening shoulders and sighed. The surfboard underneath me bobbed in the gentle waves, water slipping and sliding over the edges. Dragging my feet under the water, I watched as bubbles rose to the surface. It was a hot summer day, and I couldn't tell if the liquid running down my face was sweat or saltwater.

"Marina!" I heard my name called faintly from the shore, and twisted around to see my cousin waving his arms frantically at me. Jason was a tiny speck from where I was seated, and I squinted my eyes against the blazing sun. I could see his white-blond hair gleaming as he yelled something else that I couldn't quite make out. I shrugged to myself and waved a hand back in acknowledgement.

After weeks of begging my mother, she had finally allowed me to fly out to San Francisco to visit my cousins. I had been dying to get another whiff of the salty ocean breeze and feel the waves rock under me. The ocean was where I felt most at home, and I had been surfing since I was four. Although I was only ten now, I had improved enough that my aunt trusted that I would be fine on my own.

We had spent the whole morning on the beach, building sand castles and throwing buckets of water at each other. I grinned to myself, thinking about how I was going to get Jason back for that handful of sand he had thrown in my hair. I really should reapply sunscreen, I thought again. Reluctantly, I steered the surfboard around and lowered my stomach onto the slick surface, gently paddling my way back to shore.

I was still a ways out from shore when I saw Jason call my name and wave his arms like a madman again. What was he going on about? He pointed behind me and yelled something that sounded like "cave." What? I glanced behind me and saw a massive blue wave rising up out of the ocean. My eyes widened in confusion. Where had that come from? The sea had been calm before now. At least I could try and ride it to shore.

I paddled my arms faster, trying to get ahead of the growing wave. Just as I felt the crest tip my surfboard, I jumped up, planting my feet on either side of the wood. Suddenly, the water surged and knocked my left foot out from under me. I quickly tried to rebalance myself, but it was too late. I toppled headfirst into the water.

A roaring filled my ears as I went under, and I couldn't figure out which way was up. It was suddenly so dark. Where had the sun gone? I tried to swim to the surface, but another wave slammed me farther under the water. My lungs ached with lack of oxygen and I again swam frantically, trying to get to the surface. Wave after wave kept hitting me in the face, and I started to panic. With one last burst of energy, I kicked as hard as I could. My head broke the surface, and I gasped, air and water filling my lungs.

I looked around frantically. Where was the shore? I barely had time to take another breath before another wave slammed me back under the water. My head cracked against something hard, and everything went black.

When I came to, I realized that I was still underwater. How was that possible? I should have drowned. I should be dead, but I was breathing.

Water rushed in and out of my lungs just like oxygen, and I was fully alert and aware of my surroundings. I could feel the ocean engulfing me like a living, breathing being. Tendrils of currents caressed my face and swirled through my hair, fanning it out around me. I looked down, and realized that my legs were stuck, being crushed between two rocks. I pulled and kicked, trying to free them, to no avail.

Then I heard a song. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, like bells mixed with the ocean waves. Immediately I relaxed, listening to the words.

Child, you are safe;

No longer will you drown.

In the ocean's embrace,

A new life you have found.

Forever will you wander,

Forever will you roam,

But this blue abyss below

Is now what you call home.

With every wave that pushed toward the shore, my legs knocked against each other, painfully squeezing tighter and tighter. I opened my eyes and watched in a dreamlike state as my legs began to stretch from beneath the rocks, merging into one long, glistening tail. Baby pink scales appeared and shone in the sunlight gleaming from above.

The ocean had saved me. I belonged to it now.

With one last glance at the shimmering water of the surface above, I swam deeper into the blue water, following the voice that would lead me to my new home.